The Danish government has planned to acquire a prosthetic leg for a Nigerian man, Lucky Frances, who was shot during a gun duel with the navy in 2021.
Frances lost his leg in a shootout with the Danish ship, Esbern Snare, in the Gulf of Guinea three years ago.
According to The Telegraph, the former Nigerian pirate will also receive benefits on education and employment, including an “integration contract” to ensure that he becomes a productive member of society.
The contract “contains a number of set goals that Frances must meet in order to be integrated and otherwise continue to receive his self-support and repatriation benefits,” the media outlet said on Tuesday.
However, the benefit has been widely criticised by the right-wing Danish People’s Party, saying the decision mocked the country’s migration and security policy.
The DF’s spokesman, Mikkel Bjorn, said, “This is absolutely absurd. That man should never have been in Denmark and to imagine that he can now be meaningfully integrated in Denmark is completely beyond the pale.”
In 2021, Frances’ four fellow pirates were killed in the shootout, but he received medical treatment, including the amputation of his bullet-riddled leg.
Three other survivors were set free by the Danish navy.
He was taken to Denmark, where he recovered from the severe injuries sustained, and was charged with endangering Danish lives.
Nevertheless, he was spared jail and later claimed asylum in Denmark.
His application led to a complex government process that favoured him to be a beneficiary of a residence permit and an integration plan.
Frances’s case has approximately cost Denmark 4.2m Danish kroner (£300,000) in addition to his medical bills.
In 2023, he initially said he would return to Nigeria, but later changed his mind and applied for asylum.
“Going back to Africa will not be good for me,” he said. “I have thought about my situation. I have also spoken to my family and explained to them about my physical condition. They are okay with me applying for asylum, even if my daughter is not completely satisfied.”
Reacting to Frances’ decision, a spokesman for Denmark’s Liberal Alliance, Steffen Larsen, said, “After we have shot the man’s leg off in battle, we must then send him on a work trial and teach him Danish. Good luck with that.”
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